[Tutorial] The Ultimate Emulation Guide Part 2 - Arcade and Handhelds

In part two of my series I will cover handheld and arcade emulators. There are only four handheld emulators and two arcade emulators worth covering. Even though they are complete opposite ends of the gaming spectrum I'll group them just because of the limited numbers.

There are two Gameboy Color emulators (Gnuboy GX and RIN Wii) that I am not going to cover. I don't think they are worth covering because Visual Boy Advance GX is where it's at. Visual Boy Advance GX not only does Gameboy Color and original Gameboy but Gameboy Advance also.

I also know there are a few specific arcade game emulators like Pacman Emulator. I won't be covering them at this time. While they are arcade emulators they are specifically meant to run one game. I will cover them in the fourth part.

Just like the first part I will be using the Linux version of Dolphin for screen shots when I can. I will also be using the same 2GB PNY SD. As with all my guides don't ask where to obtain ROMs, BIOS, or game images and try to only ask questions pertaining to the guide.

As with the first I will only be covering basic SD/SDHC/USB install. I will not be covering things like channel installs or forwarders. I'm not covering all of the controls and options because that can all be found on the emulators WiiBrew page and Readme. Also I will only be covering the original versions of the emulators and no unofficial forks with the exception of Neopop Wii. I will break my purist rule in this case because unfortunately the original version doesn't support the Wii remote, nunchuk, and classic controller. It only supports the GC controller. TheStripper Unofficial Version of Neopop Wii supports the Wii remote, nunchuk, and classic controller so that's the version I'll cover. As a reminder most if not all emulators can be downloaded via The Homebrew Browser.

Also as with the first part if you want to save a little room you can either delete or move the readme files to your PC for safe keeping after you read them. I stress the after you read them part...Read them or fail! You can also leave them if you choose to because they wont hurt anything. I'll mention which files you need and don't need with every emulator.

WiiHandy/SDL

Things you will need:
A softmodded Wii and remote
A Fat16/32 SD (* see notes)

WiiHandy/SDL does not support SDHC or USB devices. (* see notes)

(* Even though SDHC cards aren't officially supported I do own an SDHC it runs on.)

Additional BIOS you will need:
lynxboot.img

File types supported:
.lnx

Compressed file types supported:
.zip

1) Download and extract wiihandysdl-0_3.zip. You will end up with a folder named wiihandysdl-0_3.
Inside wiihandysdl-0_3 you will find apps and wiihandysdl.
Inside apps you will find wiihandysdl.
Inside the wiihandysdl in apps you will find about.png, boot.dol, gpl.txt, icon.png, meta.xml, README, and README.wii.
gpl.txt, README, and README.wii aren't necessary to the operation of the emulator.
Inside the other wiihandysdl folder you will find roms and saves. Both folders are currently empty.

2) If you don't already have a apps folder on your SD create a folder named apps at your root. - /apps
Copy the entire contents of the wiihandysdl folder in apps into the apps folder you are currently using or just created. - /apps/wiihandysdl

5) Eject your SD from the PC and insert it in your Wii. Fire the Wii up and enter the HBC. Launch WiiHandy/SDL and it will go into an options screen.
Choose Load cartridge and it will go into your game list.
Choose your game and it will launch.

Visual Boy Advance GX

Things you will need:
A softmodded Wii and remote
A Fat16/32 SD/SDHC or USB device (You can only use SDHC on system menu 4.0 or above.)

Additional BIOS you will need:
None

File types supported:
.gb
.gba
.gbc

Compressed file types supported:
.zip
.7z

1) Download and extract Visual Boy Advance GX 2.2.2.zip. You will end up with a folder named Visual Boy Advance GX 2.2.2.
Inside Visual Boy Advance GX 2.2.2 you will find apps and vbagx.
Inside apps you will find vbagx.
Inside the vbagx in apps you will find boot.dol, icon.png, meta.xml, and readme.txt.
readme.txt isn't necessary to the operation of the emulator.
Inside the other vbagx folder you will find roms and saves. Both are currently empty.

2) If you don't already have a apps folder on your SD/SDHC/USB create a folder named apps at your root. - /apps
Copy the entire contents of the vbagx folder in apps into the apps folder you are currently using or just created. - /apps/vbagx

3) Copy the other vbagx and it's contents (roms and saves) to the root of your SD/SDHC/USB. - /vbagx (/vbagx/roms, /vbagx/saves)

4) Put your ROMs inside roms (/vbagx/roms).

5) Eject your SD/SDHC/USB from the PC and insert it in your Wii. Fire the Wii up and enter the HBC. Launch Visual Boy Advance GX and it will go into your game selection screen.
Choose your game and it will launch.

Neopop Wii

Neopop Wii is a Wii port of the PC NeoGeo Pocket emulator NeoPop/SDL. I will be covering TheStripper Unofficial Version.

Things you will need:
A softmodded Wii and remote
A Fat16/32 SD (* see notes)

Neopop Wii does not support SDHC or USB devices. (* see notes)

(* Even though SDHC cards aren't officially supported I do own an SDHC it runs on.)

Additional BIOS you will need:
None

File types supported:
.ngc

Compressed file types supported:
.zip

1) Download and extract neopopwii20090203.zip. You will end up with a folder named neopopwii20090203.
Inside neopopwii20090203 you will find apps, neopop, history.txt, and neopop.txt.
history.txt and neopop.txt aren't necessary to the operation of the emulator.
Inside apps you will find neopopwii.
Inside neopopwii you will find boot.dol, icon.png, and meta.xml.
Inside neopop you will find roms and saves. Both rom and saves are currently empty.

2) If you don't already have a apps folder on your SD create a folder named apps at your root. - /apps
Copy the entire contents of neopopwii into the apps folder you are currently using or just created. - /apps/neopopwii

5) Eject your SD from the PC and insert it in your Wii. Fire the Wii up and enter the HBC. Launch Neopop Wii and it will go into a license screen.
Press 1 and you will go into an options screen.
Choose Load New Game and you will go into a screen where you can pick where to load your ROMs from.
Choose where to load your ROMs from and you will go into your game selection screen.
Choose you game and you will go back to the options screen.
Choose Play Game and your game will launch.

1) Download and extract DeSmuME Wii r185.zip. You will end up with a folder named DeSmuME Wii r185.
Inside DeSmuME Wii r185 you will find apps and DS.
Inside apps you will find DeSmuMEWii.
Inside DeSmuMEWii you will find boot.dol, icon.png, and meta.xml.
Inside DS you will find BIOS, ROMS, and SAVES.
Inside BIOS you will find a placeholder file named "PLACEBIOSHERE.txt".
Delete the placeholder file.
Inside ROMS you will find another placeholder file named "PLACEROMSHERE.txt".
Once again delete the placeholder file.
Inside saves you will find the last placeholder file "PLACESAVESHERE.txt".
Delete the final placeholder file.

2) If you don't already have a apps folder on your SD/SDHC/USB create a folder named apps at your root. - /apps
Copy the entire contents of DeSmuMEWii into the apps folder you are currently using or just created. - /apps/DeSmuMEWii

4) Put your ROMs inside ROMS (/DS/ROMS).
If you want you use the optional BIOS (biosnds9.rom and biosnds7.rom) put them in BIOS (/DS/BIOS).

5) Eject your SD/SDHC/USB from the PC and insert it in your Wii. Fire the Wii up and enter the HBC. DeSmuME Wii and it will go into a welcome screen where you can choose where to load your ROMS from or press B to see the credits.
Choose where to load your ROMs from and you will be taken into your game selection screen.
Pick your game and it will launch.

Chapter 2 : Arcade

In this chapter I will cover SDL MAME Wii and GxGeo.

I have to add a note here like I did for the fifth gen of console emulation in the first chapter. As I've learned from all of my MAME testing a lot of arcade games will fail due to the Wii's limited memory resources or other unexplainable or unknown reasons. Once again you just have to accept it if you want to play your arcade favorites because it is what it is.

SDL MAME Wii

SDL MAME Wii is a Wii port of the PC arcade emulator MAME.

(Personal note - I have developed a strong love/hate relationship with this emulator. I love it but it drives me nuts at the same time. If it weren't for my current frustration with it this guide series wouldn't exist. )

Things you will need:
A softmodded Wii and remote
A Fat16/32 SD/SDHC or USB device (You can only use SDHC on system menu 4.0 or above.)

Additional BIOS you will need:
It varies depending on the arcade hardware you are emulating. A lot of games run with no BIOS but some may need a BIOS file.

File types supported:
Only compressed files

Compressed file types supported:
.zip

1) Download and extract sdlmame-wii-v0.6.zip. You will end up with a folder named sdlmame-wii-v0.6.
Inside sdlmame-wii-v0.6 you will find apps and mame.
Inside apps you will find sdlmamewii.
Inside sdlmamewii you will find docs (additional info inside), boot.dol, icon.png, meta.xml and README.txt.
docs and README.txt aren't necessary to the operation of the emulator.
Inside mame you will find cfg, roms, errors.txt, and mame.ini. roms is currently empty.
Inside cfg you will find default.cfg and defualt-lg.cfg.

2) If you don't already have a apps folder on your SD/SDHC/USB create a folder named apps at your root. - /apps
Copy the entire contents of sdlmamewii into the apps folder you are currently using or just created. - /apps/sdlmamewii

4) Put your ROMs inside ROMS (/mame/roms). If you are emulating arcade hardware that needs BIOS place the BIOS file in here also.

5) Eject your SD/SDHC/USB from the PC and insert it in your Wii. Fire the Wii up and enter the HBC. Launch SDL MAME Wii and it will go into the game selection screen.
Select your game and it will go into a disclaimer screen.
Press left then right on you remote or type OK is you are using a keyboard and your game will launch.

GxGeo

Things you will need:
A softmodded Wii and remote
A Fat16/32 SD/SDHC (You can only use SDHC on system menu 4.0 or above.)

GxGeo does not support USB devices.

Additional BIOS you will need:
000-lo.lo
sfix.sfx
aes-bios.bin (* See notes)
usa_2slt.bin (USA country file - Only one country file is required to make the emulator work.) (* See notes)
vs-bios.rom (Japan country file - Only one country file is required to make the emulator work.) (* See notes)
asia-s3.rom (Asia country file - Only one country file is required to make the emulator work.) (* See notes)
sp-s2.sp1 (Europe country file - Only one country file is required to make the emulator work.) (* See notes)

(* You can use uni-bios.rom in place of the country file and aes-bios.bin.)
(* Even though you should only need country file of you choice I've found games that want a specific one for some reason. This is where the uni-bios would probably come in handy.)

File types supported:
Only compressed files

Compressed file types supported:
.zip

1) Download and extract gxgeo-20101119.tar.gz. You will end up with a folder named gxgeo-20101119.
Inside gxgeo-20101119 you will find apps, gxgeo, and READ.MII.
READ.MII isn't necessary to the operation of the emulator.
Inside apps you will find gxgeo.
Inside gxgeo you will find boot.dol, icon.png, and meta.xml.
Inside the other gxgeo you will find conf, romrc, roms, and save.
Inside conf you will find gngeorc.
Inside romrc you will find 192 game .rc files.
You can delete or move unnecessary .rc files to your PC to save room. GxGeo will also load faster if you do. You only need the .rc files for the games you intend on playing.
Inside roms you will find a placeholder file named "empty".
Delete the placeholder file.
Inside save you will find another placeholder file also named "empty".
Delete this placeholder file too.

2) If you don't already have a apps folder on your SD/SDHC create a folder named apps at your root. - /apps
Copy the entire contents of the gxgeo folder in apps into the apps folder you are currently using or just created. - /apps/gxgeo

I just thought of something. How awful would it be if you promised to help me with something (say, Linux formatting instructions), but then went off and did your own thing like a guide (I don't know where these examples are coming from).

I'm not sure why I even brought this up, because it's not like you could ever do something so horribly inconsiderate. Shame on me for even dreaming you were capable of such a thing. It's not like you are a Mac owner...

I just thought of something. How awful would it be if you promised to help me with something (say, Linux formatting instructions), but then went off and did your own thing like a guide (I don't know where these examples are coming from).

I'm not sure why I even brought this up, because it's not like you could ever do something so horribly inconsiderate. Shame on me for even dreaming you were capable of such a thing. It's not like you are a Mac owner...

LOL. Sorry about that. I'll toss something together for you tomorrow. I've got to watch Moral Orel and then pass out for work or I would do it now. You could do what I did and tell people not to bother you with formatting. If you can't format a drive or card you probably shouldn't be modding a Wii IMO. You just want basics right...no pics?